At Gant by Michael Bastian: The Designer on Real American Style, Norman Rockwell, and His New Dark Side

The paintings of Norman Rockwell inspired Michael Bastian’s Fall 2013 Gant collection which is a fitting source, considering one might argue that Bastian, like Rockwell, has turned elements of the American everyman into something iconic. Named after the New England town the artist called home, the "Stockbridge" collection feels like a back to basics move for the Gant by Michael Bastian brand, stocked with classic American pieces, updated in fit and fabric and refined via Bastian’s keen eye, that can (and will) populate any number of guys’ closets. Bastian even went as far as recreating key garments found in some Rockwell pieces, turning illustrations into three-dimensional items up for sale. We caught up with the designer at the brand’s latest preview, held at the The Art Students League of New York where Rockwell used to be a student and roam the halls, to talk about why the artist represented American style, how the Gant by MB line keeps expanding, and what we can expect of his main line show come NYFW (hint: it’s gonna be dark).

GQ: So where was the starting point for you this season?

Michael Bastian: The big inspiration is the illustrations of Norman Rockwell. We just wanted to go back to that idea of what’s real American. We did some fun things like take something like that [pointing to Rockwell’s Freedom of Speech] and reproduce the shirt and the jacket. I always feel like it gelled when the guys came back from the war and they mid in a little bit of the cargo stuff, and then they had the preppy stuff, and then they had the athletic stuff, and when you throw that all in a blender, you get this American look. It was interesting to me that it was popping up in all these Norman Rockwell illustrations, too. And, Gant was founded in 1949, so everything kind of goes back to that - late 40’s, early 50’s.

GQ: What do you think it is about the combination of preppy, military, athletic that works so well together?

Bastian: Well, that’s what America did differently from everyone else. If you look at an English look, they don’t mix it up like we did. It was done very innocently by these guys coming home from the war; these pants they had were their army chinos, and if they were cold they threw a sweatshirt on, and you had a Brooks Brothers button-down shirt. It’s very democratic, in a way. You didn’t have any preconceived style ideas.

GQ: As though they weren’t crafting a look, they were just wearing what they had...

Bastian: Right, they were just wearing their clothes, and doing an amazing job of it. So that’s the spirit of this collection - really going back to the fundamentals, to what a guy can wear every day.

GQ: Are there any items you really think are key to the collection?

Bastian: This is funny, because I give these interviews and people always ask, "What are the five things every guy needs?" or something like that, and we always say the same thing: a navy blazer, a good pair of chinos, a button-down oord... But the funny thing is that we would talk about them all the time, but we never did them. So we backed up and filled in all the gaps, so that you can find the perfect navy blazer, the perfect cashmere v-neck, the pink oord I talk about in every interview. We also brought the cargo back, that works in all the colors you would want it in. It’s more in the spirit of the first season we did for Gant, where it was just really good clothes. Because we had that idea that, this was good for guys right out of school, putting together their first working wardrobe at that upgrade stage. And somehow we ended up in the Galapagos and Hawaii, and we took you on these designer trips. So I just wanted to go back and fill in the gaps for the guy who likes what we do. It’s a nice calm, focused season.

GQ: What spurred the idea of looking to Rockwell for inspiration?

Bastian: The pure Americana of it all - and like I said, some things are literal, like a baseball jersey that says "Chicago" that’s right out of a painting, there was a tank top where a kid had a "23" on the back, so we took that. But there’s not so much literal stuff because you have to keep things modern.

GQ: So you’ve kept the essence of that Americana in the clothes. But not twee Americana, we should say.

Bastian: No. And you can’t even really call it "preppy" Americana, because it’s just how real guys dress. The whole "preppy" thing makes me crazy, and I’m trying really hard to scrape it off my own line and scrape it off of this line. Good clothes are good clothes, and they don’t need whales, and tricks, and too many jokes. Sometimes you just need something to wear.

Gant by Michael Bastian models being painted by students from the The Art Students League of New York

GQ: It’s impressive every season just how much this line has grown since you started it. What’s been the most continually exciting thing about working on this line for you?

Bastian: Remember how in the beginning, it was the little brother and the big brother? We realized really quickly that isn’t exactly the way it shook out. I wear Gant all the time; I mix it up. So now we look at Gant as the kind of things that you can wear every day: the perfect whatever, the things that you think are out there but maybe aren’t always out there. Then that frees us up for our own line to take you on a little bit more of a trip. They do fit together in a way, but it’s not age. It’s just one guy.

GQ: That’s another thing I think we’ve been seeing lately, is that a guy doesn’t have a tailored wardrobe and he doesn’t have a sports wardrobe, he just has one wardrobe.

Bastian: Exactly. You just have your clothes, and that’s it.

GQ: Do you think that’s in response to anything out there, or is it just guys realizing that they can wear it all together?

Bastian: Now that you don’t have to wear a suit to work, it’s all wide open. You’re getting that upside-down logic thing, where it’s cool to wear a suit to a bar, where you’re the cool guy. I think all these young guys are just getting very comfortable with this idea, where they know enough to have a tailored element and a sports element. It should all be made with the same attention to detail, because it used to be that you would spend all your money on your suits, shirts, and ties, and your weekend stuff or after-work stuff would be a mess, and not so well made. So guys had these two different closets. Then this casual dress thing happened, and now if you wear a polo shirt and jeans to work, they should be the best polo shirt and jeans you can find.

GQ: As you’re gearing up for your main line runway show, what are you doing to get ready?

Bastian: That is actually going to be the opposite of this. I said that if we’re pushing these brands apart a little, our show is going to be kind of dark. It’s all about this darker idea of New England. This painter, Andrew Wyeth - we’re picking another painter on the other end of the spectrum. If Rockwell looked at the bright and happy side of things, Wyeth looks at the dark underside of things. It really is the opposite about this one. We joke and say this is going to be our goth season. We’re still figuring out the styling; I don’t even know what Michael Bastian goth really is. We love this idea of a loner guy in Maine, just stuck in New England. Not even any place to shop other than hunting stores and vintage stores. Did you ever see the movie The Village? I was reading that The Village’s art direction was really inspired by Andrew Wyeth, and I had never seen The Village, so I watched it and now this kind of Amish sense has crept in. Something new and different for me.

GQ: Well you sound pretty excited about it.

Bastian: I’m scared about it. I’ve never explored this darker side of us. It’s in a falling down ball room - the old ball room to the Pennsylvania Hotel. Plaster falling, linoleum peeling, plywood on the floor... it’s pretty cool. Not what people are going to expect from us.

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